explaingit

paseru/sinew

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

20RustAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · easy

TLDR

A desktop code editor with a fully customizable AI coding assistant where you control which tools it can use and how they behave.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Sinew))
    What it does
      Customizable AI harness
      Full code editor
      Multi agent coordination
    Tech stack
      Rust
      Tauri
      React
      Monaco
    Capabilities
      Toggle tools on off
      Switch AI providers
      Shared task board
    Use cases
      Custom coding workflows
      Multi agent teams
      Desktop development

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Customize exactly which tools and capabilities an AI coding assistant has access to.

USE CASE 2

Run multiple AI agents at once with different roles like frontend, backend, or tester.

USE CASE 3

Switch between Claude, GPT, Gemini, and other AI providers without changing your workflow.

USE CASE 4

Use a full desktop IDE with an embedded code editor and terminal alongside the AI assistant.

What is it built with?

RustTauriReactMonacoMCP

How does it compare?

paseru/sinewakitaonrails/ratatui-bubbleteadeepdiy/pdf2md
Stars202020
LanguageRustRustRust
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires an API key from at least one supported AI provider such as Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google.

In plain English

Sinew is a desktop coding tool that puts an AI assistant directly inside a code editor. It solves a common frustration with AI coding tools: most of them have a fixed, hidden setup, you cannot see or change what the AI can and cannot do. Sinew lets you control exactly which capabilities the AI has, what each tool is called, and how each tool is described. The core idea is that the "harness", the set of tools and instructions the AI works with, is fully editable by you. You can turn tools on or off, rewrite their descriptions in plain language, and swap between different AI providers (Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's GPT, Google's Gemini, and others) without changing your workflow. It also supports running multiple AI agents at once: you can assign different agents different roles (such as frontend, backend, or tester), and they coordinate through a shared task board with live status updates in the chat. Sinew includes a real code editor (Monaco, the same engine that powers VS Code) and an embedded terminal, so it is a full development environment rather than just a chat window. It installs as a native desktop app on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Under the hood it is built with Tauri (a framework for building desktop apps using Rust and web technologies), React for the user interface, and Rust for the core logic. The full README is longer than what was provided.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through installing Sinew on my operating system and setting up my first AI provider.
Prompt 2
Explain how to turn off specific tools so the AI assistant cannot use them.
Prompt 3
Show me how to set up multiple AI agents with different roles on a shared task board.
Prompt 4
Help me rewrite a tool's description in Sinew to change how the AI understands it.

Frequently asked questions

What is sinew?

A desktop code editor with a fully customizable AI coding assistant where you control which tools it can use and how they behave.

What language is sinew written in?

Mainly Rust. The stack also includes Rust, Tauri, React.

How hard is sinew to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is sinew for?

Mainly developer.

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